Wasted Years
by Fredslover
Summary: But there was one woman that was different. One woman that could not only resist what most others could not, but also managed to reveal a side of myself that I hadn't been aware of, and that many people would have sworn didn't exist at all. SiriusOC
1. Chapter 1

Grimauld Place sits tall and proud between two other, less respectable houses, both of which are owned and inhabited by Muggles. I say tall and proud as if it is an intentional attitude, when in reality it's one that's been fabricated by the hundreds of generations that have ressided within it. Thin, dark windows tower the front of the house, and are symetrical if you ever cared to study them from the outside. No one asside from myself has, I'm sure, in fact the only reason I found myself doing it, was to have a visual to stick in my mind, of the place that tried it's damnedest to change me.

I'm Sirius black, by the way. I should probably apologize in advanced for anything that may come off a bit meledramatic on my part. I like to pretend that I was a young, innocent wizard, whose talents and abilities were being bogged down by a family as depressing as their name. Although I suppose, in a way, I was. Though it would neither be wise, nor accurate to assume that I was ever anything resembling innocent. Even I admit that I was a "Toublemaker" to qoute the good majority of my professors in school.

Contrary to popular belief, I am a good man. No, really, if I'd cared a lick about my mother, I'd swear it on her weed devoured grave. As it is... I didn't give a damn about her, so you'll just have to take my word. Never once did I waver in the never ending battle I was subjected to as a child. That's not to say I never thought about it, or that it never crossed my mind. It did, how could it not have? In my father's household, behavoir such as mine was frowned upon. Of course, my behavoir is often frowned upon in other types of situations as well... but for different reasons.

I give full credit to my 'pureness', if you will, to none other than James Potter, and Remus Lupin. Say what you will about these men, but they kept me in the straight and narrow through out my adolescent years, in more ways than one. I realize that James never once discouraged my mischievious tendencies, in fact he probably egged them on more times that he knew, but he was truely a brother to me, in a time when I needed one most.

Remus, bless him, is the only reason I passed a single exam, when I even bothered to attempt them at all. But he is also the reason I can accept people with far more ease than I used too. I try to look for the good in even the most sinister looking people, but never let it cloud my judgement. He's a wonderful man, and those who judge him prematurely are missing out on one of the kindest, understanding, ingenius people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. At the risk of sounding sappier than I already have, not to mention looking like a complete poof, I'm going to move on to a subject sperate of my makeshift siblings.

I was also known, to a good portion of everyone around, as quite the 'ladies man'. I wont deny this either, in fact I'm telling you that this is what I was. Woman were what I did best, no pun intended. I was a very confident young lad, and this served me well in my persuit of every living breathing female I came in contact with.

But there was one woman that was different. One woman that could not only resist what most others could not, but also managed to reveal a side of myself that I hadn't been aware of, and that many people would have sworn didn't exist at all.

I learned alot that year, and I can only hope that she did too.


	2. Chapter 2

In the Wizarding World, housework isn't an issue, it's done by the family's house elf, no questions asked. It's been this way for centuries, and I don't see why anyone would ever want it any other way. My mother has decided, against my will of course, that I should do the dirtiest of the housework, because she feels that I " need to realize the value of a hard day's work ".

Sure, because she knows so much about a hard day's work. The woman hasn't lifted a single finger to anything but count gold for at least twenty years.

Of course, being the good son that I am, I've chosen to take most of my chores in stride, not complaining once... or at least within her earshot.

I closed the bathroom door with a thud, letting out a sigh of relief as I realized that I'd just finished the last of my duties for the day. Actually, if my plan worked out accordingly, I'd just completed my chores for the entire summer. Although, all of that depended on whether James ever decided to answer my letter.

My mother had no idea of my plans to leave for the remaining days of summer vacation. I'm sure she couldn't care less that she wouldn't be seeing me, in fact, she'd only notice that I'd left when she saw that no one had removed the dishes from the table that night. Unless Kreacher actually chose to do his bloody job for a change, then my absence would go completely unnoticed. Which was fine by me.

I threw the filthy rag into the trash bin, as there was no way it would be any good for even one more scrub, not that anyone would pick it up after I left anyway.

I could smell the vague hint of grime that was no doubt coming from the ancient T-shirt I'd thrown on that morning. I quickly changed my destination from the living room, to my bedroom, where I'd have to dig through my unhealthy stack of shirts for one that could pass for clean.

My door was, as I'd expected, locked. I didn't trust Kreacher at all, and he'd seen the mess that I liked to keep my room. To say the least, it angered him that I was willing to disgrace the family name by doing such, and my parent's felt the same way. I didn't see the point in bothering me about it, because I'd made it quite clear that I wasn't planning on straightening it up. Besides, Regulus kept his room like a pig sty, but no one ever said a thing to him about it... though they never really got a chance, seeing as he was never around anymore.

" Alohamora. " The simple spell slipped from my mouth, as I held the tip of my wand to the door knob. I knew that if he wanted to, Kreacher could have very well come into my room, using that infamous house elf power that all of the things seemed to have, but it was forbidden for him to do so, so I figured I was safe.

My room was the only place in the house that was capable of holding any type of comfort for me, if only a little. It's familiar surroundings were as homey as the house ever got, but that was alright with me... it wasn't like this was my real home anyway.

The infamous pile of clothes sat just where I'd lelft it hours before, at the foot of my twin bed, stacked so that it was just about even with the mattress. I picked through it, sniffing at a few of the cleaner looking ones. Finally, I found one that would smell fine after a good scorgifying charm.

It didn't take me long to slip out of my old shirt, and into the new, but used navy blue one that I'd found. After a minute, I discovered that things could get pretty boring when you didn't have anyone to talk to, and embarrassingly enough, I found myself standing in front of my full length mirror, that was standing unsteadily against my dusty bookshelf.

It never ceased to amaze me that so many girls found themselves inthralled by my looks, not that I'm complaining, it was just odd. I didn't find myself incredibly attractive, yet the good majority of the people that mattered did. Just because I didn't understand the fact however, didn't stop me from using it to my advantage. I'd kissed so many girls the year before that I lost count, and this year, I planned on breaking that record.

Running a hand through my pitch black hair, I watched it fall back into it's place... directly in front of my eye. I was never able to get that strand out of my face, but it didn't seem to bother anyone else, so I didn't fuss with it too much.

There was a soft pecking noise from the window, and I quickly turned to face it. I felt a jolt of excitement at the site of Esme, Mrs. Potter's owl, sitting on the window sill, her wings ruffling impatiently. I bounded over, nearly tripping on the shirt I'd dropped in the middle on the floor. It took a bit of effort to shuve the window open, but I finally got it, and Esme didn't hesitate to fly in, landing on the edge of my mirror, which rocked dangerously under the light weight of her .

" Please tell me you're the barer of good news, Es. " I muttered, walking over to the bird, which had obediantly stuck out the leg that had a tiny scroll of parchment attatched to it. I gave myself only about two seconds to unfold the parchment, and even less time to read it.

_It's a go, ready when you are._

I grinned, tossing the parchment carelessly into the trash bin that was on the floor, next to the unnecissarily large desk that I'f "inherited" from my father. IN reality, he'd needed some place to store the thing, while he recieved his new one, being to stingy to ever sell something as expensive as this desk undoubtedly was.

My trunk was already half-way packed, and I pulled it out from under mt bed, throwing dozens of the shirts from the pile on the floor into it. I was hoping the Mrs. Potter would wash them for me, if not... Merlin help anyone you had the burden of sitting within a ten foot radius of me.

The lock of my trunk barely made a sound as I clicked it shut, pulling it up right, while dragging it over to the fireplace that sat in the corner of my room.

I hated this house with a passion, but I couldn't deny the conveniance of the well placed hearth. I suppose my family's wealth was good for something.

The clay pot of floo powder was almost empty, merely because I was too lazy to replenish it, but that didn't matter now anyway. As long as there was enough to get me to James' that's really all that mattered.

There was, though I had to scrape the bottom with my finger tips, I did manage to gather enough that would get me there. I lit the fire with my wand, mispronouncing the elementary spell once in my excitement. Flames grew higher by the second, and after they reached the appropriate hieght, I threw the floo powder in, watching the orange and amber flames turn emerald.

I squeezed my trunk in beside me, after stepping into the flames. The feeling was pleasant, but I knew I had to speak up fast before the Floo Network closed on me, since I didn't exactly put the standard amount of powder into them.

" Fourteen thirty-nine Tessel Lane! " I stated clearly, not having enough fuel to afford saying it wrong.

Just then, the little visual of my room I had after stepping into the fire place, was replaced my green flames that kept me from seeing any thing at all. I'd grown accustom to the spinning, and didn't let it effect me in the least. There were a few times where I saw random rooms flash for less than a second in front of me, but nothing stayed longer than that.

I've never been very patient, but my problem seemed to elivate wihen I was waiting to arrive at the Potter's.

Speaking of which, the scene of another living room appeared in front of me, this time it stayed, and I felt myself become stationary at last. The sight of the brown love seat before was enough to make me laugh in relief. I practially skipped out of the brick fireplace, dragging the trunk behind me.

The living room was empty, and I took a minute to take it in. It had been a while since I'd been there... almost a year a least. Everything looked the same, hardly anything had been moved since my last visit, which didn't surprise. As much as I loved her, Mrs. Potter was bit of a pack rat.

" I'm home! " I shouted, singing the last note. No one said anything, and I didn't hear anyone in the dining room ahead. It was then that I noticed that the backdoor was open, letting the sunlight flood into the dimly lit kitchen, which was attatched to the dining room.

The linoleum floor squeaked beneath my sneakers, as I let my trunk drop to the ground and ran for the open door.


	3. Chapter 3

The Potter's backyard was certainly a sight for unbelievably sore eyes. For one, it was huge, spanning out into an empty meadow, ending only when the edge of a thick forest forced it to. Secondly, James had converted it into a simple, yet very practical quidditch pitch. A quidditch pitch that he was putting into good use as I marched my way further away from the house. Mrs. Potter was sitting at the wooden table that had been sitting there, the exact same place, since my very first visit. Her worried eyes were focused on her son.

" James, not too high, _please_! "

I laughed, coming up at her side. She hadn't noticed me yet, and I wasn't in the mood to send her into hysterics, so I cleared my throat gently. She turned, her worried expression still bending her pretty features.

Catherine Potter was a thin, but strong woman, a trait in which she showed off admirably while crushing my ribs with a hug.

" Sirius! James didn't mention that you were coming so early! " She pulled away, holding me out at arm's length. Her eyes swept over me, and I shifted uncomfortably for a moment.

" My, my, I do hope those Hogwarts girls have some self control, because I dare say they're going to need it this year... "

" Oh, they've got it, " Came a familiar voice. I turned, causing Mrs. Potter's hands to fall from my arms. " they just wont use it. " James said, grinning as he leaned his Shooting Star against the edge of the table.

Mrs. Potter laughed, pushing her shoulder length black hair behind her ears.

" I don't doubt it. " She muttered, giving both of us a smile before turning to head for the house.

" Dinner at six, boys! " She called, not turning back to look at them. She had announced it as though it was a national event, although in this house, it sort of was.

" Gotcha, mum! " James yelled after her, moving closer to the table.

" Hey, mate. " He smiled, taking a seat. There was a pitcher of what looked to be lemonade sitting in the middle, with a glass placed right beside it. " Took you long enough. "

I strode around the bulk of the table, sinking into the stiff, sun warmed wood.

" I left the second I got the message. " I told him, pulling my wand from my pocket. With a few swift movements, along with a couple choice words, there was a plastic cup sitting directly in front of me. I took it upon myself to pour a large amount of the blissfully cold liquid into my cup, filling it to the brim. James didn't hesitate to follow suit.

" Must be Es, sometimes she gets sidetracked. I sent it yesterday morning. " He drank heavily from his glass, wiping the sweat from his brow.

" Any new moves? " I asked him, motioning to the makeshift pitch. I was eager to get back into the loop on things that were going on. James was the best quidditch player that Hogwarts has ever seen. He would never say that, of course, but anyone who watched him knew.

" A few, if your lucky I'll let you try some of 'em. " He said, pointing a finger at his broomstick. It wasn't exactly the best money could buy, not because his family couldn't aford it, but because his parents decided that James should be responsible for buying his quidditch supplies... and he didn't have a job.

" Where's Moony? " I finished my drink, bringing my wrist to my mouth and wiping the moisture from it in one, quick swipe.

" He's coming tonight actually, sometime after dinner. " James certainly seemed happy about the prospect of seeing Remus. I couldn't deny that I was as well.

" Full moon was what? Eight days ago? " I'd been keeping track of the moon phases since the beginning of last year, it was one of the few ways I could sympathize with Remus, aside from what we did during the school year.

" Yeah, I owled him the day after, and he told me that he'd try and be here the day you came, if not shortly after, so I sent him another letter yesterday. "

" Great, any word on Pete? " I already knew the answer, but decided to ask anyway.

" His dad wont let him leave the house till school, of course. " James responded, sounding irked. Peter was never able to come over during the summer, for reasons unknown to the other three of us. We didn't like to pry, although sometimes it was rather worrisome.

" Surprise, surprise. " I pushed my summoned cup away from me, and reached over for the broom.

" May I? "

" Go ahead, just try not to embarrass me. " He told me, shaking his head slowly. I laughed, though it was slightly sarcastic.

Minutes later I had taken to the air, and just as expected... I made a complete fool of myself.

--------------

All and all the day had been rather eventful, with Mrs. Potter's dinner bringing a few others into the house. Mostly fellow Ministry workers, which had followed Mr. Potter home from work at the thought of Catherine's cooking.

Personally, Ministry business bored me, not that I would have ever said that out loud at the dinner table, as they continued speaking about what the next Wizengamot meeting was supposed to entail. Meaning I spent most of the time flinging mashed potatoes at Feilis, James' cat, as it prowled around people's legs, no doubt hoping for a piece of steak to fall from the table.

That night, after Remus' arrival we didn't stay up very long, because James' mother had promised to take us into Diagon Alley the next day, to get our school supplies. We all stayed in James' room, him on his bed, Remus on the leather recliner next to the closet, and me on the floor, under the window.

Steady snoring told me that James was asleep, and Remus was silent as usual, the only sign that he was actually breathing was the rise and fall of the afcan that he had draped over him. He'd been the first to fall asleep, not even participating in the rounds of Exploding Snap that I'd started with James. He'd claimed to be tired, and that he was still recovering from the past week. We hadn't questioned him any further, and said nothing as he'd pulled the blanket over his head to sleep.

Now however, I was beginning to wish that I had someone to talk to. For some reason, I couldn't sleep. I could hardly even lay down, I was just too restless for some reason. I'd surely regret it in the morning when Mrs. Potter would come to gather us, and I was dead tired.

I decided that I was hot, with both my long sleeve sleeping shirt on, topped off with my wool blanket. Sighing, I peeled the blanket off, and sat up. The window to my right was low, almost reaching the floor, so I had no problem propping myself up on the sill.

As silently as I could, I lifted the tiny latch, and pushed the glass out with my finger tip. Immediately I felt the cool night air rush through the thin crack of the window, blowing into my face gently. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax a bit, now that I wasn't quite so warm.

The sound of the trees rustling in the dry summer air was almost enough to convince me to try to sleep again, but not quite. My eyelids fluttered open and I gave the surrounding neighborhood a quick scan. It was a lovely place to live, in my opinion anyway, James would tell you otherwise. In general, the houses were close together, except for the Potter's house, which was sitting at the end of a back road of the neighborhood, sitting catty-corner against the woods.

This was no coincidence, in fact, it was the reason they'd bought the house in the first place. This place was inhabited by Muggles, but that didn't change James' father's love for quidditch, or his son's. So they used the coverage that the woods provided, along with a few look-away charms, to hide the fact that they flew around their yard on broomsticks more than twice a day.

The house was turned so that James' window faced the closet house around. Well, house was really not strong enough of a word. It was, by definition, a mansion of sorts. It stood at least twice as tall as the Potter's house, which was three stories if you counted the attic. It was also old, but in a beautiful way. It looked Victorian to me, although I knew nothing about house construction or decor.

As long as I could remember, that house had been empty. I'd been staying here every summer since my third year at Hogwarts, and not once have I ever seen a soul leave, or go in.

This is why, when I saw a dim light flickering from the window that was just about level with the one I was staring out of, I felt myself sit up a little straighter, leaning farther out the window.

If I squinted, placing a hand to my forehead, I could just make out a person, through the thick glass window of the mansion. They turned to the side, and it was very clear that it was a woman, a young one by the looks of her blond hair. She was carrying a candle, which would explain the flickering light. I couldn't tell what it was she was doing from so far away, but I was very curious. James hadn't mentioned that anyone had moved into that house.

I twisted around to see James sprawled out on his stomach, the quiet snoring sounds just as steady as ever. Even if I had wanted to wake him up, it wouldn't have worked. James slept like a dead man.

I looked back out the window, and was surprised to see that the girl was staring right back at me. Caught off-guard, I didn't move for a few seconds, too surprised to register the fact that I should probably be looking away right about now. She was adjusting her position in order to get a better look at me, and I quickly gained enough sense to pull the window shut, cutting of the breeze that had been blowing through.

Dunking my head below the molding of the window, I waited for a bit, hoping that she'd loose interest and turn away. After almost a minute, I took my chances and peeked over the window sill, focusing on her window intently.

She was gone, the light I'd seen before had been extinguished, and there was nothing unusual about the familiar house anymore. In fact, I was beginning to wonder whether or not I'd imagined everything. It had been an awful long time since I'd gotten a good nights sleep, perhaps this girl was a creation of my woman and sleep deprived mind.

She hadn't been, she couldn't have been.

One thing was for sure, I had a few questions for James Potter.


End file.
